Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon will have to wait.
The UFC announced Thursday that his bout against Michael Chandler will no longer be the headline attraction at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas due to the injury.
Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will defend his belt against Jiri Prochazka in the new main event, UFC CEO Dana White The announcement was made in a video On social media.
McGregor said in an Instagram post Saturday that it was “extremely difficult for me to pull out of my scheduled fight.”
“The decision to postpone the fight was not taken lightly but was made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC and my team,” he said.
This would have been McGregor’s first fight since July 2021, when he lost to Dustin Poirier by first-round TKO at UFC 264. McGregor broke the tibia in his left leg that night, leaving him unable to compete further. The injury required surgery and months of recovery.
McGregor, a former featherweight and lightweight champion, has managed just one win in nearly eight years — a first-round TKO victory against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.
McGregor, a flamboyant Irishman known as much for his charisma outside the cage as for his skill inside it, is undoubtedly the biggest superstar in the history of mixed martial arts. He has headlined the five best-selling pay-per-view UFC events of all time, including his bout with Dagestani star Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018, which attracted 2.4 million buys.
He also faced boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in the ring in August 2017. The fight generated 4.3 million PPVs – the highest ever for any sporting event.
Chandler, a former UFC lightweight title challenger and longtime Bellator champion, hasn’t competed since November 2022, when he hopes to face McGregor. He is 2-3 in five UFC bouts but has earned a post-fight performance bonus in four of those bouts.
It is unclear if the match will be rescheduled.
